Souls in Motion
by TakatoRikku
Summary: AU Yr6. The war ended in 1998. Voldemort has destroyed the wizarding world, and magic itself. Nothing remains of the wizarding world. Now, 100 years into the future, Fate enlists the help of a young woman from the year 2098 to help Harry Potter yet again.
1. Prologue

I've finally been pulled out of retirement, by a nice young girl named Jessica Anders no less. I found her on my MSN list and decided to talk to her, and lo and behold, I held a soft spot for the 17 year old and she is the one person who inspired me to write again. So I dedicate this story to Jessica, thanks for bringing me back.

**Souls in Motion**

_"Tashaneri."_

Large almond shaped eyes hidden under closed eyelids moved around. The heavy lids crinkled and long, dark eyelashes pressed tightly together. A small, pert nose wrinkled cutely. Full pink lips pressed together in a pout.

_"N-nani?"_ a very rich alto voice whispered softly, as the female appeared to be half asleep, half awake.

_"Tashaneri…"_

The disembodied voice called yet again, but the young 19 year old Japanese girl only stirred in her sleep.

_"Kasa," _she grumbled. "_Ori-wa-"_

_"I'm not your mother, Tashaneri."_

Whatever words she meant to say next froze in her slender throat and those long eyelashes parted as heavy eyelids opened, revealing large almond eyes with dark, very deep pools of brown within them. Those same full lips parted slightly in shock, and a slender hand with long fingers placed itself on a modest chest.

_"Nani?" _she cried in panic. _"Doku wa…?"_

She had every right to be panicked. It seemed as if her body was not in her bed in London but was instead floating in an incredibly vast white beyond. She wondered if she had somehow died in her sleep.

_"You are not dead child, but if you do not take action, you, and the future of this world, will be."_

Long, statuesque legs kicked around feebly as her free hand gripped her tiny waist. Her almost doll-like face had an angry look on it.

"Why… Where am I?" Tashaneri demanded. "Who are you?"

From the everlasting infinite came a figure. Walking tall and gracefully, a middle-aged man dressed in a white tuxedo walked up to Tashaneri, who was still floating around helplessly. He looked very handsome, with long blonde hair slicked back neatly with a handsome, well-groomed face. He carried with him a pocket watch, which he held in one lace-cuffed hand. He flicked it open and paid the young woman no mind as he frowned at what he saw.

"Not good at all, no, I fear that I have left this world unattended for too long," he murmured.

"Um, hello?"

He turned to see Tashaneri hanging in the abyss. With a wave of his hand, she floated to her feet on his level.

"My apologies. I suspect that you want some answers?" he asked. She nodded.

"My child, I am a man of fortune, and a man of stakes," he introduced, conveniently omitting his name. "One may call it my specialty, for I am very good at it."

Seeing the young girls' confusion, he continued on.

"You see, I bet on fortune, and I stake on bets!" he explained. "And as luck would have it, or should I say, _unluck_ would have it, my fortune has lost, and in losing fortune, I lose my stakes, and in losing my stakes…" His handsome face turned dark. "I lose my _bet_."

His face suddenly became cheerful again. Snapping the ornate pocket watch closed, he slipped the timepiece into his breast pocket and took Tashaneri's hands into his own.

"Now you can imagine that I do not like losing, not one bit and I suppose you can call me dishonest because I would very much like to cheat to win," he said with a smirk. "That is where you come in."

"Me?" Tashaneri asked, beginning to get wary of this strange man. "What can I do?"

The man, who had begun to pace around eagerly, stopped mid pace, his hands still in the air. He spun his head back towards Tashaneri and gave her a queer smile.

"Why my dear, you can do a lot more than what you accredit yourself for," he said, still smiling that odd smile. "Why, your family is descended from the great Jubei Yagyu, are they not?"

Tashaneri bristled. "How did you…?"

The man waggled his finger at her. "I know all my dear, never pretty your – well – pretty face about it. Yes, yes, you're Yagyu's descendant, by many times removed. Of course you would know the Yagyu Shinken style quick draw, no?"

"I do," she answered suspiciously. "What does that have to do with you?"

The man clasped his hands together deviously. "Well in order to explain the _why_, I must explain the _when._"

"When?" Tashaneri repeated.

"Sit, sit!" he motioned. "You see, the time now is 2098. My, how humans have progressed! I digress, I'm sorry. But this story, no, this story begins in the summer of 1996. You see, the story, like all good versus evil story begins with…"

He paused in mid speech. "Oh my, then this story should begin in 1943! Yes, as I was saying, in 1943 there was a boy. Oh, but he was no natural boy, and even in the wizarding world, he was no normal boy either."

"Wizarding world?" Tashaneri asked incredulously.

"His name was Tom Marvolo Riddle," the man continued on, as if he hadn't heard Tashaneri's outburst. "And this story begins… and ends with him."


	2. Chapter 2

It seems I can never forget disclaimers...

Ahem: I don't own shite. I don't even own Tashaneri Kadonshi, Jessica Anders made her up for me completely. I just own the plot... Anything else not mentioned goes to JK Rowling. Cry.

Oh and, don't worry, no Ayumi Hamasaki in this one ;) Lucky...

* * *

**Chapter 02**

"Tom Marvolo Riddle," the man continued. "A man who could have been much more than the monster he turned out to be. All thanks to society. You see, society made him into a bitter young boy when he was sent to a terrible orphanage after his mother died giving birth to him. Society labeled him as a freak, and he was constantly beaten and abused at said orphanage. Society still did not help young Riddle when he learned of the magical world at a ripe 11 years of age. Being sorted into Slytherin house automatically made society hate him, for they were a dark house and nothing good would come of them. Society turned its back on Riddle when he pleaded to stay at the castle, and not be sent back to the orphanage."

By now, Tashaneri was deeply riveted by the tale the man told and kept listening raptly.

"In 1945, young Tom graduated from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and embarked on a path of darkness. Having already killed his non magical father out of hate two years previous, he went about the world, learning dark and evil magicks and nearly 10 years later returned, looking like death itself. The dark magick had begun to take its toll on his body, the sheer evil of it warping and twisting his flesh.

He began to gather more power, more darkness as he split his soul into fragments, an in a way making himself immortal. He collected followers, Death Eaters they were called, and began attacking people. You see, he had ceased to become Tom Marvolo Riddle, and with some mad ingenuity, created an anagram that spelled his name out to '_I am Lord Voldemort' _And so began Lord Voldemort, the Dark Lord's path of terror.

Voldemort believed that blood was the key to power. You see, in the wizarding world, there are three kinds of people. Purebloods, Half-Bloods, and Muggleborns. Purebloods had both magical parents of course, Half-Bloods had one magical and one muggle (or non-magical) parent and Muggleborns come from families with no magic at all!

Now, it was some silly old belief that Purebloods' blood itself was much more powerful, so they frowned down upon any other blood, and even killed because of it. Voldemort, he took advantage of that. He rallied up all the Pureblood wizards, promising them a world of glory and _no mixed bloods._ Of course, the hypocrite was a half-blood himself, what with the witch mother and muggle father, but who was he to admit it? He was extremely powerful, and at the time, power meant pureblood. He just played on the Pureblooded wizards' beliefs and used them for his own agenda, which was revenge.

_Revenge,_ it could only be called that, for Voldemort held such a grudge against the world, the society that created him that it burned with a raw, seething hatred until he was consumed by it! The _years _of Dark Arts and evil rituals had distorted his mind, making him _mad_, and _vengeful_.

Now, much later in the timeline, here comes 1981, a _year to remember_," the man said wistfully. "_He was born._ The Chosen One, the child of Prophecy, Harry James Potter. Born to parents who had thrice defied the Dark Lord, James and Lily Potter, born to be the destined slayer of Voldemort.

A prophecy was made."

By now, Tashaneri's eyes were even wider as she took in the story. The things this man said, the _words_, and the _passion_ that he spoke them with could mean nothing but the truth. This seemingly fairytale of wizards, and magic, and good and evil had enraptured her, had ensnared her very soul and she wanted more, she wanted to hear all of it.

And hear all of it she would.

_"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…_

So you see, this young babe, this newborn hope of the wizarding world was to be the one who would save the world! Spoken through a human seer by the Oracle, either he would succeed or fail…

So that night… On Hallow's Eve of 1981, _he_ came to the Potters' door a knocking…"

Tashaneri covered her mouth with her hand.

"And he killed proud, noble James. And upstairs, into the nursery, he slew beautiful, caring young Lily. And turning his wand on the 15 month old Harry Potter, he spoke the words of the killing magic, _Avada Kedavra_, and hit the child on the forehead.

But Harry Potter did not die. His mother, had invoked ancient magic, _powerful _blood magic that protected him with her sacrifice, and the killing curse instead _rebounded _onto Voldemort, destroying his body, but not his fractured soul.

And so Voldemort was defeated, and Harry Potter was hailed as the Boy-Who-Lived, his conqueror."

The man took his pocket watch out again and flicked it open. "Rats," he muttered. "It appears I'm running low on time and I _simply_ cannot entertain you with stories for much longer. Suffice to say, the boy grew up, he fought Voldemort and instead of winning, _like he should have, _he died. Which… pretty much throws a monkey wrench into the gears of my galaxy, so to speak. That's where you come in."

"Me?" Tashaneri gulped. What could she possibly do? The stories this man, no, being spoke of… of magic and monsters and heroes and villains… What could she possibly do to help? She would more likely be a hindrance than assistance, she couldn't even do magic!

"No, you can't."

She looked up at the man, who was smiling sadly down at her. "Voldemort became insane by the end of the war, nearly 100 years ago. Somehow, he managed to destroy the magic of the planet, deeming the life on the planet unworthy of such a gift. In doing so, he killed the planet's magic, which gave her children magic to begin with. Everything and everyone that had even a teaspoon of magic in them… died. Phoenix burst into flames, never to be reborn again. Dragons fell out of the sky. Unicorns lost their horns, and shriveled into the earth and wizardkind knew no more."

He strode up to Tashaneri, and gripped her arms tightly as he drew her up. His handsome face looked determinedly at her beautiful oval face.

"Your future has suffered the sins of its past, and now you, and _you alone_ can go back in time to fix it!" he said harshly, yanking her closer. Tashaneri was breathing hard, the beauty on her face marred by her frightened look. "Your soul can be intertwined with the 16 year old soul of Harry James Potter should you choose it, and you can help guide him into the warrior _he was meant to be_."

He released Tashaneri suddenly, and she stumbled backwards a few steps. Turning away from her, he looked over his shoulder and plainly said, "If you refuse, the backlash of the planet's loss of magic will completely destroy this world and galaxy within twenty years. If you accept… Then you will never see your family, your friends or your loved ones again. If you accept, you will lose your body, your soul will become bound with Harry Potter's and you will be bound to secrecy about the future. Your skills, and your heart will help to save the world, no, the galaxy. _My galaxy._"

He turned to face Tashaneri and held out his hand. "Tashaneri Kadonshi," he said nobly. "Will you help me?"

Tashaneri looked at his outstretched hand. _Never see them again?_ She thought. _Well… if what he says is true, then we'll all die anyways. I… can I leave my life behind? My mother… I will miss her so much… But… But I _must_ do this, not just for me but for everyone on the whole world! … I guess._

Tashaneri Kadonshi, descendant of the legendary swordsman Yagyu Jubei (or Jubei Yagyu if you want first name / last name) and quite ironically, the galaxy's last hope, reached out her hand.

"Who are you?" she finally asked.

The man smiled at her as their hands met, emitting a warm feeling in Tashaneri's soft hand as she began to fade out of existence.

"Fate. But you can call me Lucky."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 03**

One hundred years into the past… Harry Potter had just arrived back at Number Four, Privet Drive with his relatives after his fifth year at Hogwarts. His school year had been anything but peaceful, and having witnessed the death of his godfather, the Order took it upon themselves to threaten the Dursleys on Harry's behalf.

Unfortunately, big angry men such as Vernon Dursley rarely took a hint when given one, and took the threats as an insult to his person. Once home, he immediately shoved Harry's trunk – which contained his wand – and books into the cupboard under the stairs and Hedwig was barely saved an equal fate as Harry dashed her upstairs to his room.

Uncle Vernon was a simple, narrow-minded man. He would not allow some 'freaks' to order him around. Despite the warnings about not hearing from Harry for three days, he locked his nephew in Dudley's spare room and again, barred the windows shut like in Harry's second year.

And so, here sat Harry, three days after his imprisonment, sitting at his bed. Empty soup cans littered the floor, for that was all he was given to eat, as were the water bottles that collected themselves on his desk. Surprisingly, Aunt Petunia had taken it upon herself to buy Harry's food, and while not that healthy, the stews did a good job of filling Harry up. He was fed thrice a day, though to his uncle he ate only once. Harry was never sure why his aunt had started to 'help' him, but he certainly wasn't going to risk his food by asking her. He sat on his bed, stroking Hedwig's neck as she crooned sadly.

"The Order should be here today," Harry told his owl. Although, given the Order's actions as of late, he couldn't help but give an involuntary wince. "I hope."

A flash of white light caught his attention. Hedwig gave out a startled screech, and with a flurry of feathers, she disappeared behind the dresser. Harry, unable to move upon seeing such a sight, sat riveted on his bed as he watched the ball of light that appeared in his room.

It seemed to take shape, slowly changing into a glowing humanoid form. For a brief moment, Harry wondered if this were some sort of trap of Voldemort's, but decided that it probably wasn't, since the 'blood wards' prevented the Dark Lord from coming here.

The white glow finally dissipated and lo and behold, there stood a young woman. She was beautiful. She was definitely Asian by the looks of it, and held a delicate but strong looking visage. She had a beautiful face, Harry couldn't quite describe her beauty, but it seemed almost Veela-like, despite the fact that she had very long and straight black hair instead of the silver Veela usually had. Her eyes were what drew Harry in, as he unconsciously rose from his bed.

Such beautiful eyes they were, so perfectly shaped and framed. Harry felt he could look into them for ages. Unfortunately, the young women disagreed.

"Are you going to say hello, or just stare at me all day?" she asked with a hint of annoyance in her rich voice. She placed a slender hand on her somewhat unnaturally small waist.

Harry just then realized that she was transparent. "Er… are you a ghost?" he asked hesitantly. She didn't quite look like the ghosts of Hogwarts, as she still held color but she certainly was see-through.

She shrugged. "I'm apparently just my soul," she answered. "Are you Harry Potter?"

He nodded, words unable to work for him at the moment. Just what was going on?

"Alright, listen," she said, floating over to Harry's side. "Apparently you lose some war against some Dark Lord or whatever, and Fate decided to send me back to help you… somehow."

"Lose? How did I lose? Are you from the future?" Harry asked rapidly. Things were never normal for him, he was slowly beginning to accept that.

She held up her hands. "Whoa, take it easy," she laughed. "I don't know how you lost, I was never told. And yes, I'm from the year 2098."

"Bloody hell!" was Harry's eloquent response.

"Indeed."

"How are you supposed to help me?" Harry asked curiously.

The woman sighed. "I'm Tashaneri Kadonshi, by the way," she said.

"Oh, that's a nice name," Harry blushed, he _probably_ should have asked who she was…

"Thank you. Fate said that my soul was going to be bound to yours and that I'd help you somehow." She wrinkled her brow cutely. "I have no idea how, I'm not even magical or whatever…"

She looked up at Harry. "Will… will you accept my help?" she asked hesitantly. "If you lose, the future as we know it will cease to exist. And I rather liked it…"

Harry took a deep breath. A maelstrom of emotions and thoughts raged through his mind. Surprisingly, the thought on whether to trust this Tashaneri Kadonshi was at the back of his mind. Queerly, his thoughts about her soul being bound to his were foremost, and what it would entail worried him the most. What was so drastic in the near future that made it come to this? What was so bad that Harry needed the help of someone from the future to come back in time?

Harry shook his head, banishing such thoughts. Now was not the time for second guessing, he had done that all year and look where it got him. After the death of Sirius… he needed all the help he could get.

He looked Tashaneri square in the eye. "What do I need to do?"

* * *

Hundreds of kilometers away, Albus Dumbledore sat behind his desk at Hogwarts and couldn't help but let an involuntary twitch bother his left eye. Glaring at the pieces of destroyed objects around him, he thought, _damn that brat! I never should have put the tracking devices out on display on my desk, and now look what happened! I need to repair these quickly! At least Harry didn't destroy my ward sensor._

The wizened old wizard looked over at a silver instrument on the shelf nearby. It was currently spinning very quickly and emitting strange clicking noises. Albus quickly strode over and gave it a look.

"That's odd…" he murmured. "It says that a magical presence is near the brat. Impossible! I told the Order to keep away from Harry, to keep him isolated and his stupid friends were easy to convince, they're not even sending him letters! Stupid thing must be malfunctioning again…"

He gave the instrument a prod with his wand and it seemingly stopped whirring about. "That's better, stupid thing. I should replace it soon."

* * *

Back in Little Whinging, Harry and Tashaneri had just taken each other's hand…

Neither were prepared for what happened next. With a startled scream from each of them, Tashaneri and Harry were quite literally _sucked _into eachother.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 04**

Pain… it was all he… they knew at the moment.

"Wh--- ---pened – him?!"

"We ---- kn--! ---- --- locked up a-- -ay!"

"GIV- -- - REASON DURS---!"

Harry opened his eyes slowly, painfully. The constant pressure on his brain was almost unbearable, much more so than Voldemort's possession not too long ago. And still… he felt a foreign presence in his mind.

He looked around and noticed that he was tucked under his bed. It looked to be night time, if the darkness outside was anything to say for it. Looking the other way, Harry was surprised to see Mad-Eye Moody and Tonks having a yelling match with his Uncle Vernon. Moody even had his wand pointed at Vernon's throat, and the look on his face promised nothing but pain.

"What did we say at the train station you _ruddy fat effin' muggle?"_ he snarled, brandishing his wand dangerously. "Do you have a _bloody effin' _death wish?!"

"I will not be spoken to in -"

"Oh go roll around in mud, yeh berkin' idiot," Moody muttered, and with a wand, Vernon was transfigured into a great big pig. Pig-Vernon squealed in horror and stumbled away from Moody, his huge fat body barely making it out of the doorway.

"Hagrid tried that when we first met," Harry said, catching the attention of the ex-auror and auror. "Of course, Dudley only got a tail. You're pretty good at transfiguring aren't you Professor Moody? What with turning Malfoy into a ferret last year and now this? Cheers!"

Harry's boyish smile did nothing to defuse Tonks' worry and she was on him in an instant.

"Are you alright?" she cried. "We didn't hear anything for three days, and Mad-Eye said to come here and see why and then we saw the _bars_ and found your stuff locked in the cupboard and the cupboard had this ratty old mattress and I wondered if you were actually _forced _to live there when you were little and then that fat muggle came into the room and we got so mad -"

"Enough!" Mad-Eye bellowed. A whimper could be heard from Dudley's room. "Potter, what the bleeding hell is going on here?"

_Wow, I'm surprised she still had breath to go on,_ a familiar voice echoed in Harry's mind. _And he turned that fat guy into a pig! That's so cool!_

"Er…" _Er…_

"Harry?" Tonks asked, holding him at arms' length. "Are you okay?"

Harry shrugged, ignoring the voice in his head at the moment. "I guess. I mean, yeah, Vernon did lock me in my room again, but Aunt Petunia actually fed me this time. Haven't been out since I got back though."

Mad-Eye's face twisted in an ugly sneer. "_Accio _pig!" he muttered, and pig-Vernon's squeals could be heard as he traveled through the house. He landed with a great BOOM in front of the group and with a flick of his wand, Vernon was back in human form, looking disheveled and puce in the face.

"How dare you!" he roared, leaping to his feat and making the foundation of the house shake yet again. "I will take this up with your law enforcement!"

"We _are _the law enforcement piggie," Tonks shot back, flashing her auror badge. "So shut up, sit down and _don't say another word_."

"You dumb shit," Harry's mouth moved on its own. Harry's eyes widened and his hands flew to cover his mouth. Luckily, the others interpreted this as Harry's shock at cursing his uncle.

_Oops. I think_.

_Tashaneri, is that you? _Harry thought.

_I guess so. Wow your mind is so jumbly! I can hardly make sense of things here!_

Ignoring the verbal battle between the adults, Harry frowned. _What d'you mean?_

_Wellllll. You know what a library looks like right?_

_Yes. A bunch of books stacked on shelves._

He felt something like happiness bubble within him. _Yes! _Tashaneri exclaimed happily. Ah, that explained the feeling. _Don't forget that the books are neatly organized and arranged. Now, I see my mind and I see yours and your 'memories' I guess aren't very well organized like mine._

_Is that bad?_ Harry wondered. Perhaps this was why he failed so badly at Occlumency. Of course, Harry still held out that Snape was a terrible teacher.

Tashaneri gave a mental shrug. _I dunno. It wouldn't hurt to let me organize it, would it? It's weird. I have no body, but in your mind I can sort of move things around with my own. It's hard to explain._

_Kind of like a computer? _Harry asked. Dudley had gotten the new Windows 95 and Harry had watched him move a pointer around on the screen before he was herded into his room. _Y'know, like moving the pictures around with that pointer thingie?_

_Yeah, that's close enough. Since I'm here to stay, would you like me to do that?_

_Sure, if it helps me out, then I'm not complaining!_

Tashaneri giggled within Harry's mind. _Oho, what's _this She asked, pulling a memory of the Yule Ball up.

It showed Harry staring at Hermione as Viktor Krum led her down the aisle in the Great Hall. Harry even felt his younger self's awe at Hermione's beauty.

_She's pretty,_ Tashaneri said mildly. _Do you know her? Oh wait, she's your friend… Hermione._

_Yeah,_ Harry thought with a mental gulp. What had just happened? _She is_.

"Harry?"

Harry jerked in his bed, coming back to the real world again.

Tonks was peering at him in worry while Moody kept Vernon at wand's length.

"You kinda zoned out there for a moment," she said worriedly, pressing her hand against his forehead. "And your face flushed _terribly_ for a few seconds. What's up?"

"Er – nothing," Harry said, not wanting to reveal what he was thinking about. "Just some good memories I suppose."

Tonks winked saucily at him. "I bet," she laughed.

Harry was horrified. "What?" he sputtered. "No, that's not it I was – uh –dammit!"

Tonks laughed and waved Harry off as they turned their attention to Mad-Eye.

"Now you listen here you great fat sorry excuse of a human being," he growled, jabbing his wand into one of Vernon's four chins. "The blood protection that this place has is connected through Potter, and his blood. That means yer wife, and her great pudding of a son. Nowhere in that does it include _you_. That means – in my eyes – you are _expendable_."

Vernon's eyes bulged out.

"So do try to make yerself _useful_ you fat oaf," Mad-Eye's face got very dark. "Or I'll be comin' back for you."

He turned away from Vernon, who – by all appearances – looked to have wet himself and looked at Harry. "We'll be comin' by every three days to check up on you," he announced. "I better see you out and about Potter."

"Yes sir," Harry said with a lopsided grin.

"Bye Harry!" Tonks said cheerfully, bounding out of the room with Mad-Eye. "Oh wait!"

There was a loud crash, and Tonks appeared into his room again, flat on her face. She was holding an envelope up in the air. "This is from Gringotts," he muffled voice said from the floor. "Dunno why they gave it to me, I thought Dumbledore would give it to you."

She gave him the letter, one last hug and departed with a sad look on her face. Not a minute later, Harry heard a wrenching noise and looked over to see the bars on his window twist themselves into oblivion. _Thanks Mad-Eye._

Harry looked at the letter in his hands. It had been the first time he had ever gotten a letter from the wizarding bank.

_What's a Gringotts? _Tashaneri asked. _Oh wait, never mind, I just saw it. _

Harry ripped open the envelope and started to read the letter.

_Harry James Potter_

_You are presence is required on Friday, July the Fifth for legal matters:_

_The will reading of Sirius Black, recently deceased._

_We await an owl reply. If you cannot attend the reading, please notify Gringotts and we will assist you in choosing a representative_

_Gringotts Wizarding Bank_

_Daigon Alley _

Harry's heart plummeted. _Sirius' will. He's really dead, isn't he?_

_Judging from your memories, yes,_ Tashaneri replied. Feeling his sorrow, she hurriedly said, _I'm sorry, I didn't mean-_

_It's okay,_ Harry sighed. _Well, the reading is next week I suppose I should write a reply._

Walking over to his desk, Harry marveled at the open door of his room before taking out a piece of A4 paper and an old pencil. Since all of his supplies were locked downstairs, he had to make do.

_To whom it may concern,_

_I am Harry James Potter replying to the letter concerning my godfather's will. I would very much like to attend, but I am not capable of getting myself to Daigon Alley at the moment. If I cannot somehow make it to the reading, I would like to appoint Griphook as my representative since I don't really trust any wizards or witches at the moment to handle my affairs._

_Pardon me if this is rude or not, but why haven't I ever gotten a statement on my vault before? I don't know how Gringotts works, but muggle banks have monthly statements on accounts and I just wondered if maybe my mail was lost or not?_

_Sincerely,_

_Harry James Potter_

Folding the letter up and sealing it with some old tape, Harry gave it to Hedwig, who took it in her beak.

"Take it to Gringotts Bank girl," he said stroking her feathers. "Don't stop for anyone, fly like the wind!"

With a nod, Hedwig alighted out the window and threw herself into the air with a purpose.

_You'd think that a bank would tell you how much you have,_ Tashaneri commented.

_I hope they answer me,_ Harry thought as he watched Hedwig's white form disappear into the sun.

The goblins would help Harry much more than he would expect.

**Chapter 04**

"P-----!"


	5. Chapter 5

Just so you know, it was sunrise by the time Hedwig took off.

* * *

**Chapter 05**

Harry quickly learned the disadvantages of having a 19 year old female in his mind. Mostly when he showered or used the loo.

However, true to her word, Tashaneri began to sort out Harry's cluttered mind. It was a slow and disorienting process, as Harry would sometimes go into a daze or stumble about as certain important memories would be shifted around in his mind. Such as his motor skills.

There were some benefits though. Things were much quicker to come to mind than before, and Harry could recall information slightly faster than he normally would. His movements were starting to become less clumsy like a teenager, and more graceful like an adult. Tashaneri had decided to work on Harry's senses, seeing what she could do with them.

It had been a few days since Mad-Eye and Tonks came by the first time. They had visited once more, giving Harry his trunk and things back and had warned him about a letter from Dumbledore.

Said letter said:

_Dear Harry,_

_It seems as if Gringotts has ignored my requests of leaving you alone. Why they insist on such formalities, I shall never know. You have surely received a letter from them concerning Sirius' will reading. I am afraid that, at the moment, you cannot go. It is too dangerous, and you surely won't put the wizarding world at risk by endangering yourself, would you? _

_I trust you will make the right decision. _

_Albus Dumbledore_

To say the two souls were angry would be an understatement. For the first time in two years, Harry had accidental magic and completely incinerated the letter. He would later note on how easy it was to summon the magic.

_How dare he! _Harry fumed.

_Write him a letter!_ Tashaneri agreed. _Tell him what you think!_

Stomping over to his desk, Harry whipped out a piece of parchment and after dipping his quill in ink, began to scribble furiously.

_Headmaster,_

_While your advice is duly noted, I cannot help but raise some suspicions about them. If it is so 'dangerous' to go to a place second only in magical protection next to Hogwarts, then why must I stay put? You said it yourself that Gringotts' magic is extremely powerful, so should I not be safe within their walls? _

_I will also kindly remind you that Sirius is my guardian, not you. And since he now DEAD then what right do you have to tell me what to do? I am no more endangering myself by going to Gringotts than strolling around Hogwarts._

_I am making the right decision; I am going to hear my **godfather's **final wishes. Do not write me again concerning this._

_Harry Potter_

Just then, Hedwig flew back in with a letter in her hand. Judging by the golden script, it was from Gringotts.

"Good girl!" Harry said with affection as Hedwig preened under his praise. "If you're up to it, I have another letter for you."

Hedwig hooted indignantly. "Okay, okay, here you go," Harry chuckled. "Deliver this to Dumbledore, don't wait for a reply okay?"

Hedwig nipped his finger and took the letter before flying off again.

_Let's see what Gringotts says!_ Tashaneri said excitedly, putting aside her organizing for the moment.

_Mr. Potter,_

_Since this reading is of utmost priority, we at Gringotts have decided to indulge you with a service not available to many. This letter is a charmed portkey that will activate upon the words 'Mr. Black' tomorrow for a window of precisely two minutes after 9AM. Be advised, a formal reading such as this requires dress robes to be worn. Fortunately, the reading begins at 10AM, so we have given you an hour to prepare yourself._

_We are also delighted to hear that you would have appointed a non-human as your representative, many were thinking you would have chosen your self-instated magical guardian, Albus Dumbledore._

_Concerning your vaults, you should have received a monthly statement for your trust account and family account since you had been reintroduced into the magical world. Gringotts bank has written to Albus Dumbledore, your financial advisor regarding this. Should his answer be unsatisfactory, we will revoke his position and you may choose a new advisor._

_I have taken it upon myself to personally review your statements and have found many inconsistencies regarding withdrawals over the past 15 years. Since the security of a letter is not infallible, you and I shall have words after the will reading._

_In your debt,_

_Ragnok the fortuitous_

_Gringotts Manager of Finances_

"Whoa," Harry breathed out. "That's a mouthful. I can't say that I really understand it all, but it doesn't look that great concerning Dumbledore."

_At least we get to go to the hearing! _Tashaneri bubbled, going back to her work.

Harry grinned widely. _Yeah we do! Wait, I have to get new dress robes!_

_What is it with men and clothes shopping?_ Tashaneri asked in annoyance. _I'll help you out!_

The next morning, Harry woke up at 8AM and quickly showered and dressed in some clothes that Mrs. Weasley had gotten for him, consisting of a Weasley-sewn shirt and some slacks that Mrs. Weasley bought using Harry's money. Tashaneri embarrassed him endlessly while he showered and by the time he grasped the Gringotts letter and muttered "Mr. Black!" the red in his cheeks had died down.

Harry appeared in what looked to be a massive office. The walls were lined with gold engravings and weapons adorned plaques and stands throughout. Hearing a polite cough, Harry turned around to face a massive ornate gold desk with a small goblin sitting behind it.

Said goblin was dressed in very regal red robes and his weathered old face bore no usual 'goblin hostility' as crinkled red eyes observed the young man before them

"Welcome to my office Mr. Potter," his deep voice said. "I am Ragnok, Manager and all that."

"Hello Mr. Ragnok," Harry said with a little head bow. "Thank you for all of your help."

Ragnok waved him off. "Consider it a small portion of Gringotts' debt to you Mr. Potter," he answered. "Please, have a seat."

He beckoned for Harry to sit in one of the deeply lacquered mahogany chairs that faced the desk. Sitting down on what looked to be silk cushions, Harry felt very comfortable.

Ragnok smiled, showing no teeth of course. "You like it?" he asked and Harry nodded. "I had them made in China. Wonderful carpenters there, you should look at them sometime."

Lacing his spindly fingers together, Ragnok took a deep breath. "However, now is not the time for such pleasantries," he sighed. "The will reading will be held precisely 57 minutes from now. Before you go off, do you have any questions?"

"Yes sir," Harry said. "I was wondering who else would be attending?"

Ragnok snapped his fingers and a long piece of parchment appeared in his hands.

"Including yourself, the Weasley family will be attending, one Hermione Granger, Andromeda Black-Tonks and family, Narcissa Black-Malfoy and family – well those that _aren't_ incarcerated – one Remus John Lupin and one Albus Dumbledore."

Harry made a face at hearing Malfoy would be attending.

_Well they sound like family,_ Tashaneri commented.

_I know, but it's still Malfoy._

_That prepubescent blonde kid?_

_Yes._

"Is there anything I should know about the will itself?" Harry asked politely.

Ragnok nodded. "Yes. It is currently being contested by Narcissa Black-Malfoy and the Ministry of Magic since in their eyes Sirius Black was an escaped convict. However, Gringotts bank does not recognize this contest since we have all legal paperwork proving that Sirius Black has never been convicted of a serious offense other then indecent exposure to muggles in 1978."

_Indecent exposure? _Two minds thought at once.

Ragnok looked flushed for once. "Something to do with celebrating the Potters' wedding and getting drunk in front of several young women," he muttered. "Ahem. So you see that the will cannot be stopped. There was also a contest from Albus Dumbledore."

Harry sat upright. "What?" he asked.

"It appears that our esteemed headmaster did not want the will to be read either. At first we at Gringotts did not know why, but – well – you will know why in 54 minutes' time. Go now, you must get properly dressed for the occasion. Might I suggest slate grey robes, with black trim?"

"Yes, I'll need to go to my vault to withdraw some Galleons then."

Ragnok just slid a small sack of coins to Harry across the desk. "It has already been done. There should be enough for some nice robes and a little extra, is that satisfactory?"

Harry smiled, being mindful not to show his teeth. "Thank you Mr. Ragnok, that sounds perfect!"

Ragnok smiled back at Harry, even showing a sliver of white teeth. "Please, call me Ragnok Mr. Potter."

"Only if you call me Harry."

"It is an accord."

Some minutes later, Harry was in Madame Malkin's Robes and was being fitted for the robes that Ragnok had suggested.

"Oh don't you look handsome!" Malkin gushed as Harry looked himself in the mirror. The grey robes really brought attention to his eyes and they fit him perfectly and snugly. He looked like royalty for once.

After paying for the robes, Harry asked Madame Malkin what time it was.

"It's 5 minutes to ten dearie."

After bolting across Daigon Alley, Harry made it into Ragnok's office with 2 minutes to spare.

The elderly goblin raised an eyebrow at the panting young human. "Perfect timing Harry, please, follow me."

Harry obediently stepped behind the manager as they exited the office. Once outside, they were suddenly flanked by a large group of goblins, who carried swords and spears. There were six goblins up front carrying spears, three on each side and four goblins flanked the left with swords, while another four flanked the right.

Ragnok answered Harry's unasked question. "I am the manager of this establishment Harry, such a position demands protection."

Walking through the main hall of Gringotts gathered much attention as many witches and wizards – and even goblins – stopped what they were doing to watch the heavily armed procession move to a set of massive iron doors.

"The hearing room," Ragnok explained. With a wave of his hand, they opened.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 06**

It looked like any muggle courtroom really. Uncomfortable looking wooden benches with a bunch of podiums at the front.

All heads turned to look at the newcomers. Several women – meaning Mrs. Weasley, Tonks, Hermione and Ginny – gasped when they saw Harry amongst _goblins_. It was unheard of! Hermione's parents merely looked confused, but also apprehensive at the weapons.

"Albus!" Molly admonished. "You said Harry wasn't coming today!"

Albus looked furious. "It would seem that he did," he said between gnashed teeth.

They watched as Harry walked with an almost catlike grace down the aisle with the goblins. He almost seemed _comfortable_ with them!

Harry stopped in front of the gawking Weasleys and an angry Dumbledore.

"Headmaster," he said with a very small hint of respect. "Have you received my reply yet?"

"What reply?" Dumbledore spat out before he could control himself. Mrs. Weasley looked affronted.

A goblin entered the hearing room holding an envelope. "A letter for Albus Dumbledore," he said in a nasally voice. "A white snowy owl just delivered it."

Harry couldn't help but smirk. "Oh," he said dismissively. "There it is."

Dumbledore put on his disappointed grandfather look. "Harry, what are you doing here?" he asked wearily. "Did I not stress the importance of safety to you?"

"Well I kind of wondered why it would be _so_ dangerous for me that I couldn't come, but hell, everyone else could safely so I decided to throw all caution to the winds and put myself in mortal peril you see," Harry quipped as he maneuvered himself around the gawking headmaster and found himself a front row seat near the Malfoys.

"Potter!" Draco Malfoy spat.

"Ferret balls," Harry's mouth said. It seemed that Tashaneri took great pleasure in the ferret incident.

"Draco, behave yourself!" Narcissa snapped. "My apologies… Mr. Potter."

"Don't worry about it, I suspect it'll take a lot more than mothering to make Draco grow out of the whiny brat that he is," Harry said offhandedly. "Er – that is to say-"

"Yes," Narcissa's lips were in a thin line. "Indeed."

"Is everyone in attendance?" Ragnok called out from his podium. "Mr. Dumbledore, please sit down."

Dumbledore, who was halfway to Harry, sat down next to Remus with a grumble.

Ragnok pulled out a thick piece of parchment with a flourish.

* * *

"The reading of the will of Sirius Black, son of Orion and Walburga Black, heir to the Black estate has now begun. In attendance are Harry James Potter through guardianship, Arthur Weasley, Molly Weasley, William Weasley, Charles Weasley, Percival Weasley, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Ronald Weasley, Ginevra Weasley through blood, Andromeda Black-Tonks, Ted Tonks, Nymphadora Tonks through blood, Narcissa Black-Malfoy, Draco Malfoy through blood, Remus John Lupin through brotherhood, John Granger, Cassandra Granger, Hermione Granger through acquaintance, and finally Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore."

Ragnok paused and peered around. "Are all those stated present in mind and body?" he asked.

A corresponding "Aye" was his answer.

"Very good. This will, written on the seventh day of May this year has been validated and proofed by law by Gringotts Wizarding Bank of England. By law and magic it shall be carried out. I shall now read and bequeath as noted:

_This is the last will and testament of I, Sirius Black. By sound mind and body, I hereby bequeath the following, to the following:_

_To my distant cousins, the Weasley family, I leave 5000 Galleons to each member, except for Percy. If he can smarten up and apologize to his dear mum, then he'll get his share. On top of that, I also leave an extra 10,000 for just being there for Harry._

_To my closer cousin, but in blood only, I leave Narcissa Malfoy 2000 Galleons and the hope that she will realize what her husband really is and leave him. I also declare all access to the Black estate null and void so her rat of a husband can't fund his master._

_To my disowned cousin Andromeda, I leave her 60,000 Galleons. It may not mean much to you, but hey, if I could, I would have gotten a name change for your daughter._

_To Remus, I leave 100,000 Galleons on the hopes that you will take Harry in as your own, as I have. You're all he has left, and vice-versa. Moony, never think that you are lesser than anyone because of what you are. You are a hundred fold better than the likes of Lucius._

_To Hermione Granger, I leave 5000 Galleons and whatever books you can find from you-know-where. Just please make sure not to touch any of the iffy books. You have been a true friend to Harry time and time again, and your faith in him has inspired him to do the impossible. Continue to nag him about homework, mother him about his feelings and just plain care for him like you've been doing for the past five y ears. You've done a good job, although that would be expected of the brightest witch of your age. So much like Lily…_

_Ahem. To Albus Dumbledore… Damn, what _should_ I leave you? It would be fitting to give you nothing, seeing as how you ruined my life and whatnot, but that would be cruel of me."_

Dumbledore looked worried for a moment, but a smirk returned to his face, unnoticed by all except for Ragnok.

_"Then again I was never known for being nice, Snivellus can attest to that so I leave you nothing! Bahahahaha! Take that! And take your damn Fidelius off my damn house! _

_Now, on to the good stuff. Since I've pretty much exhausted whatever was left of my stash, mind you I was disowned you know, I give to Harry Potter whatever is left that is mine. And also, as Harry's godfather and therefore magical guardian by Goblin Law e.5-0R4, I hereby wish for Harry to be emancipated due to my death and that he be given adult rights._

"I CONTEST THIS!" Dumbledore bellowed.

"Guards please remove the headmaster, he is no longer needed."

Harry's eyes narrowed as he watched the fourteen goblin guards bodily remove Dumbledore from the hearing room. _So that's why he contested the will,_ he thought. _What's so bad about being emancipated?_

_Freedom,_ Tashaneri simply replied. _He doesn't want you to have that for some reason._

"As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted," Ragnok continued.

"Since goblin laws are regarded over the Ministry of Magic's laws concerning magical wills, this wish shall be approved. Harry Potter will be emancipated. Unbeknownst to Mr. Black, his mother died before she could legally disown her son, therefore her disownment of Sirius Black was verbal only, and considered moot by law. Mr. Black's words, _I give to Harry Potter whatever is left that is mine_ now means that Harry Potter stands in inherit the untouched estate of the Black family."

"I contest this," Narcissa Malfoy said snootily. "Mr. Potter is of no relation to the Blacks, therefore next of kin should stand to inherit. Andromeda does not stand to inherit either since she had been legally disowned by my uncle, Orion several years before his death."

Ragnok merely sneered at Narcissa.

"While your contest would normally hold court in the Wizongamot, and even here, you forgot one fact, a fact that I have omitted up until now," he said with a superior tone.

"What is that goblin?" Draco asked waspishly. The goblin guards dashed over to the Malfoy heir, brandishing their weapons but Ragnok waved them off.

"I have here legal documentation that Jonathon Henry Potter and Dorea Marie Potter applied for legal custody of Sirius Black in 1974. They were granted custody in 1975. Therefore, by law, Harry Potter is of direct relation to the Blacks."

His toothy grin either scared everyone or… okay, it scared everyone bar Harry.

Narcissa sat down quietly, the fight having left her. There was nothing she could say about it. Goblins were as finicky as they could come regarding law, and if what the manager said was true – and most definitely was – then Black was indeed related to the Potters, if only by law.

"Now this brings up several interesting points. Mr. Potter stands to inherit the Black estate as soon as this will is over, which in itself is very extensive. Due to no direct access for the past 16 years, barring minor withdrawals -" here he gave Narcissa a look "- the interest it has gained has been substantial. I will personally give Mr. Potter a breakdown afterwards. The second point is that now that Mr. Potter has been emancipated – well, once he signs the papers of course – he becomes an adult in the eyes of the Ministry and Gringotts. That means the wills of James and Lily Potter must now be read due to that fact.

It is interesting, well in my opinion, the contents of their wills. It appears that the law had been circumvented many times regarding the placement of Mr. Potter and appropriated funds. Alas, this is a private will, to be read to the last Potter and therefore it will be personally held with Mr. Potter later."

Ragnok put the papers away and faced the group. "Please come forward, in order of appearance on the will to come up and sign for and collect your things."

* * *

One by one, everyone but Harry went up to gather what they had gotten from Sirius. It was a tearful moment as the people who knew and cared about the ex-convict remembered the young man.

Harry held back since he would be seeing Ragnok later anyways. Soon, Hermione and her parents came up to him. He gave her a small smile as she clutched her new Gringotts key and a few papers.

"How are you Harry?" she asked quietly, searching his eyes. "The headmaster told us not to write you…"

Instead of his usual 'I'm fine'; Hermione was surprised by what Harry said.

"I'm better than I thought I'd be," he admitted. "Actually thinking it through made me realize that no one but Sirius himself could make himself stay put and I'm just glad to know that he loved me enough to die for me."

Hermione's limpid brown pools watered. "Oh Harry," she sighed quietly, giving him a gentle hug. "That's more than you've ever really said."

She felt a little fuller in Harry's opinion. Maybe it was just his imagination, but in the two weeks that they had been away, Hermione certainly felt curvier than before. Maybe it was the lack of robes. Yes, that had to be it.

"You deserve it," Harry said somewhat shyly. "After what Sirius said about you… well no one deserves to know more than you Hermione."

Hermione let him go with a bright smile and Harry was suddenly aware of a large hand in his face.

"John Granger," Hermione's father said gruffly.

Harry shook the man's hand strongly, noticing the man wince for a fraction of a second. _What did I do?_

"Harry Potter," he replied. The man's stony face didn't change.

"I'm Cassandra, Hermione's mother," the tall, beautiful brunette interjected, giving Harry a motherly pat on the shoulder. "We've heard so much about you!"

"Good things I hope," Harry said with a charming smile, which made Mrs. Granger laugh.

"She talks about you a lot," Mr. Granger said with a glare.

Harry was intrigued by the man's open hostility. "Yes, I suspect friends would do that," he said uneasily.

Fortunately, he was saved from Mr. Granger's ire as the Weasleys came up. The last he saw of Hermione was her furious face pointing _her_ ire at her father.

"Hello Harry!" Mr. Weasley said brightly. "All right there?"

Harry gave him a big smile. "Better than ever actually."

Mrs. Weasley was still upset over Dumbledore it seemed. "I can't believe he tried to do that!" she complained. "Really now! Such a dishonor to the dead!"

She covered her mouth in shock, looking at Harry fearfully.

Harry gave Mrs. Weasley a reassuring one-armed hug. "No worries," he said softly. "He would have wanted us to be happy Mrs. Weasley. Not all glum and boring."

She wiped her eyes and gave Harry a small smile. "You're right dear," she said, regaining her posture. "I can't believe he gave us so much money. I just know Ronald's going to buy some fool broomstick…"

"No I'm not!" Ron said indignantly. "Well maybe I'll give Ginny my Cleansweep and buy the new Nimbus…"

"I knew it!" Mrs. Weasley shrieked.

"Hey I think _I'll _buy the new Nimbus, you keep your broom!" Ginny argued.

"More joke items!" the twins sang.

"Sirius, what have you unleashed?" Mr. Weasley joked.

A polite cough interrupted their conversation.

"Harry, if you will, we have much to discuss," Ragnok said with a bow.

Harry turned back to his friends. "Sorry you guys, I guess I have to sort this stuff out," he said apologetically. "I'll come visit you, yeah?"

"Of course dear, we wouldn't have it any other way," Mrs. Weasley said warmly for her family. "Shoo now!"

As Harry and Ragnok, flocked by their guard exited the hearing room, Bill turned to his father.

"Never has Ragnok held court with any human," he said in a worried tone. "Neither has he called any wizard by their first name OR allowed a human to walk beside him with guards. Something big is happening."


	7. Chapter 7

Here's another chapter. I'm trying to go into in-depth feelings and emotions in this story, since it is about a soul pairing. So you'll be hearing a lot of what Harry's thinking/feeling most of the time. It's very hard to write, but I love the challenge, keeps my muse going. Enjoy! The next chapter is where all the fun begins, I swear.

* * *

**Chapter 07**

"Quite an interesting display of Slytherin tact back there Harry," Ragnok said with something that sounded like a chortle. "Are you sure you were placed in the right house?"

Harry shrugged. "Honestly? I have no idea," he replied truthfully. "The Sorting Hat wanted to put me in Slytherin, but I begged it to put me in Gryffindor."

"Oh? And why is that?"

"Malfoy."

This time the manager of Gringotts snorted. "It always comes back to that one, does it not?" he asked rhetorically.

They arrived at Ragnok's office and the honorary guard took positions outside the door. Harry turned to them and said, "Thanks for the show of power back there, it was brilliant!"

The guards, seemingly at a loss of what to do, merely nodded with pleased looks on their faces.

"Well said young Harry," Ragnok praised as they sat down in the comfortable chairs again. "Now, as your esteemed godfather said, _on to the good stuff_. Would you like an overall review of the Black and Potter estates, or merely a rundown of your liquid assets?"

Harry paused to think. Tashaneri helpfully reminded him about the letter Ragnok had sent him concerning inconsistencies with the Potter estate.

"Ragnok, you mentioned something odd about the Potter estate?" Harry asked.

Ragnok's calm demeanor turned into a frown. "Ah yes, that," he said, pulling some papers out of thing air. "At first I had been confused when an eleven year old Harry Potter began to transfer a monthly sum of 1,000 Galleons into vault 1056. Digging into the matter – a perk of being manager – I found out that the vault owner simply had the initials, _O.o.t.P_. Does that ring a bell with you?"

Harry clenched the armrests on his chair tightly, his jaw locked and teeth grinding. He was brought out of his silent rage by several cracking noises. Surprised, Harry looked at the armrests and found indents the shape of his fingers in them.

"Oh god I am so sorry!" Harry apologized, thinking that Ragnok would execute him or something. "My own strength has been surprising me lately, I don't know how but -"

"It's quite alright Harry," Ragnok said as he waved his hand. The chair fixed itself. "Although I must say, unconscious use of your magic to augment your physical muscle strength is intriguing."

Harry was at a loss of words. "Say what now?" he blurted out.

"A skill used by war mages dating as far back as the Founder's era," Ragnok explained. "Magic was still a new thing back then, and the ones known as war mages would use it to make themselves stronger, so they could wield their swords powerfully. How else could you explain a mere human swinging a sword the size of a small sapling so effortlessly? But once again, I digress."

Ragnok shuffled through the papers, finding one he seemed to like. "Aside from that first transfer issue, there are several others, most of them going into several anonymous vaults before being withdrawn completely. I've totaled nearly 600,210 Galleons' worth. After that, Dumbledore has taken a monthly stipend of 1,500 Galleons for himself as your self-instated magical guardian and another 500 Galleons a month to your muggle guardians."

Harry exploded. "THOSE GOOD FOR NOTHING MUGGLES TAKE MY DAMN MONEY AND HAVE THE GALL TO CALL ME A BURDEN?"

"Still your angry soul Harry," Ragnok said soothingly. "Anger will not hurt your enemies, technique and finesse will. Have some Firegold tea."

With a snap of his fingers, a young goblin walked into the room carrying an exquisite tea set made out of fine china and gold. He set the tea set onto the counter and poured a small amount of reddish-gold liquid into a cup before serving it to Ragnok.

The manager took a sip, giving out a delighted noise before saying, "A cuppa for my friend here."

The young goblin nearly dropped the tea pot in shock, and shakily poured Harry a cup of the mysterious tea. Ragnok raised his cup to Harry, who took his and raised it back.

_Wonder what it tastes like,_ two souls thought at once. He took a careful sip.

Flavor assaulted his taste buds, oh what flavor! It had the initial taste of sweetness, which was strongly overpowered by a very spicy wave which made Harry's eyes tear for the slightest second before he controlled it. As the liquid rolled around in his mouth, generating more sensations such as mint, peppermint and more spice, Harry swallowed and was surprised when it went down extremely smoothly like milk.

Taking a deep breath, Harry whistled and breathed, "Wow!"

"Very good isn't it?" Ragnok asked, already knowing Harry's answer of "Yes! It's brilliant!" "It's a goblin drink, very delicious. I'm surprised you didn't end up choking when the Graulteulk spices kicked in. The few humans who have tried Firegold tea have always choked or coughed. Good to see you can drink on level with us!"

"It's really good," was Harry's response.

"I'll have some packaged up for you. Now, what would you like to do concerning these obvious thefts from your account?"

"Was a significant amount taken?" Harry asked worriedly. His trust vault held quite a few Galleons, but this sounded enormous!

"It depends on how you say it. Is it significant amount of money? Yes, of course," Ragnok replied smoothly. 'Is it significant to the estate? No, not really. But as a goblin says, money is money."

"Yes," Harry said determinedly. "And it's _my_ money! I want it all back, is that possible?"

"Oh yes, of course, all we'll really need is a blood-signed letter from you stating that you had nothing to do with any finances concerning these transactions and if luck would have it, I have a piece of parchment here that clearly states that Albus Dumbledore is in clear violation of his rights as your advisor, and as such is sacked," Ragnok said with an innocent, yet feral grin, showing an incisor. "Why, if this piece of parchment happens to fall into this specific box named _Approved Documents,_ I shudder to think of what would happen to the headmaster's reputation."

Harry's grin matched Ragnok's. "Why my friend, that would be _a shame_," he said as he casually bumped hands with the goblin manager. "Oops!"

The parchment floated into the box, and then vanished with a poof. Ragnok took another sip of his tea.

"Well, that does it," he said, drinking the now-cooler tea. "All those in violation with your estate will have the monies re-transferred back immediately. If there is an insufficient amount of funds in any of the vaults, well, I shudder to think about their owners."

"Thank you so much for your help Ragnok," Harry said in gratitude. "I can't ever repay you."

"Continue drinking our tea like a goblin warrior and we'll consider it even," Ragnok said, pouring more tea into the cups. "Now, would you like to know about your estates?"

"Sure, but could you make it quick? I've got so much to do now, and lots of revenge to plan out," Harry asked with a wicked smirk.

"But of course. Simply put, the Black estate totals to roughly 12 million Galleons once rounded up. There are only two properties left in the estate, as the others have been sold throughout the years by their previous owners. Those two properties are the ancestral home Number 12, Grimmauld Place and a private island in Hawaii."

"Cool," Harry said. That explained the tropical bird Sirius had sent a while ago.

"As for the Potter estate, it's liquid assets total around 8 million Galleons, and about 560 million pounds in muggle investments. You own Godric's Hollow, which is nothing more than land right now, the Potter ancestral grounds in Wales and a number of muggle homes and hotels."

"D'you think I could move into one of those homes?" Harry asked hesitantly.

"Of course, they are yours and you are emancipated," Ragnok asked, confused.

"It's just that the reason I stay with my relatives is because of blood wards that keep me safe," Harry explained.

"Nonsense," Ragnok said indignantly and Harry's jaw dropped. "I have heard of these fabled wards. I am sorry to say that they are indeed _not_ your mother's work, but Dumbledore's. The magic your mother intended to use was an ancient rite of blood protection ritual that would have prevented _anyone_ with ill intentions of coming near your abode. Even someone who wanted to, let's say, push you in the back hard would not be able to touch you. I suspect that Dumbledore either used a memory charm on your mother and made her use a much weaker ritual, or simply did it himself."

Harry sat down heavily. "So… so my mum didn't do anything?" he asked, his voice cracking.

Ragnok shook his head. "Harry I more than anyone else on this planet know that your mother loved you more than herself, or even your father. She fully intended to use the rite of blood, but her trust of Dumbledore was her downfall. Under different circumstances, you and I both know that she would have. It still does _not_ change the fact that she _died for you_. Never forget that and never underestimate the love of a mother for her child."

It was Ragnok's words and Tashaneri's mental soothing that cheered Harry up immensely. "Thank you Ragnok… that's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me about my mum."

"I vehemently speak the truth when it concerns your mother," Ragnok said. "She was… well there's not really any word I can use to describe her, only that she was one of a kind."

Harry was silent again. Raising his cup, he quietly said, "To my mum."

Ragnok raised his cup and intoned, "To Lily."

"I'd like to move into one of my homes now," Harry whispered, still thinking about his mother. He looked down at the swirling red and gold in his cup. "I need to get away from this life, and away from Dumbledore's machinations. I need to train, to become stronger and defeat the threat that is Lord Voldemort. I can't do that here."

It was silent for a few moments.

"I'll help," Ragnok's voice said.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 08**

"Sign here," Ragnok said softly, passing Harry a blood quill. "Don't worry. See the little point there, where you hold it? Just press your index finger against it before you write."

Harry took the quill in his hand and didn't even wince as it pricked his finger. Tashaneri had dulled his nerve endings for him. Writing his signature, he ended it off with a flourish and the fresh blood lit up in a bright red show of light.

He was emancipated.

"And now, you must provide proof that you are a Potter," Ragnok said, placing another piece of parchment on the table. "So you can inherit the estate of course."

Harry asked, "How do I do that?"

With a sorry smile, Ragnok pointed to the quill in Harry's hand again. "Ah, I see."

The process was repeated once more for the Black estate, and after an interesting light show, everything was done. Harry himself was surprised, he thought there would be some sort ridiculous process involving family rings, or rituals, or even some sort of quest, but hey, if he was able to get off easy for once, he'd take it.

"Now, we must attend to the matter of your moving out," Ragnok said. "I have prepared a list which shows the best homes possible for training and staying hidden. Would you like to see them?"

After much deliberation, debating and deciding (ooooh, three D's in a row!) Harry and Ragnok decided to settle upon a one story bungalow in Crawley. It was a new development in the area, which was filled with two or three story mansions to be quite honest. However, the bungalow had one thing that the mansions lacked: 5,200 square feet of basement.

Since the ground level floor held six bedrooms, a kitchen and a dining room, the basement level was widened in all directions to accommodate two living rooms, another kitchen, an entertainment room and four unfurnished rooms.

At first, Harry was skeptical about the bungalow, since it was in a muggle neighborhood with absolutely no magical protection. However, Ragnok pointed out that Dumbledore would most definitely think that Harry would take residence in the Potter ancestral grounds, and would therefore put a heavy guard up on the unplottable and Fidelius guarded house's perimeter.

Ragnok also vouched for Gringotts to personally go to his home and apply any and all wards necessary, or unnecessary if Harry wanted. For a small fee of course.

A few hours later, Harry's house was completely warded against magical beings. Ragnok had hired a team of mage goblins to apply a special and goblin-only Fidelius Charm called _Velius Magickus Fidelius_. I could really go onto a huge speech about the origins and purpose of this spell, but in order to get to the good stuff, this charm hides whatever it's cast upon from any magical being, but not muggles.

There was a Secret Keeper of course, and who better to keep the secret than a goblin of high stature? Ragnok was incredibly pleased that Harry would trust him with such powerful knowledge. In fact, he was _soo_ pleased that he personally hired several muggle home designers to help Harry shop for his new home.

It was nearly midnight when Harry finally collapsed on his new bed. It was a king sized mass of comfy. No other means of description were required, and Tashaneri put her mental foot down on it. The mattresses were made of the spongiest –but firm – materials available and the covers were as soft as fresh down. The duvets were immensely fluffy and thick, but feathery and light. The pillows were made out of the same material as the mattresses, so Harry's head sank into them nicely as he lay down under the cream colored sheets.

"Now _this_ is comfy," he murmured, drifting off to sleep as Tashaneri joined him.

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

Harry grumbled in his sleep and pressed his ears into the pillow.

_Tap. Tap. Rap. RAP. RAP._

"AH! Okay, what? What?" Harry groaned, cracking a sliver of green towards the window. Hedwig was currently hovering outside across the street. Confused, Harry got up to the window and watched in fascination as his owl picked up a small rock in her talons.

She took flight and flew high into the air, diving down towards Harry's house and releasing the rock in a dive bomb. This time, it struck the front of the house on the bricks. Harry watched as she repeated the action, hitting a different spot every time.

_Why is she doing that? _Harry wondered. _She should just come over to the window!_

_It's the Magical Fidelius Charm dumbass,_ Tashaneri replied dryly, making a mental picture of her yawning hugely. _She can't see the house, but she knows you're around here somewhere. It's something about the magic in post owls or something. You'd better go outside and meet her and get that card Ragnok gave you!_

Throwing on a nice cotton bathrobe, Harry quickly made his way outside, where Hedwig swooped down upon him.

"Hedwig, I missed you!" Harry fawned, as Hedwig climbed onto his outstretched arm. "Here, look at this girl."

Looking around to make sure no muggles or wizards were about, Harry pulled out the card that said, _Harry's Hideaway is located at 32 High Street_. (Technically, there _is_ a home there for sale lol, I checked the classifieds. It's apparently **£**1,350,000!)

Hedwig looked at the letter and hooted softly to let Harry know that she _somehow _read the card. With an affectionate nip to his ear and some preening to his hair, which had grown about half an inch during the year, she flew through the open window in the kitchen.

Looking around to make sure no one saw, Harry happened to notice the morning's paper lying on the grass near the roadside. Directly under the sprinklers. _Damn paper boys! I should throttle the kid who delivers these!_

Walking out to his lawn, which then shut off the sprinklers due to pressure pads installed under the grass (yes, those exist) Harry bent over to pick up the paper.

"Harry?"

Said boy snapped his neck up and around _so_ fast, that the whiplash caused his bone to crack most painfully and his muscles to seize, making him yelp out in pain from the sudden movement. Tashaneri immediately began to work on his nerves. The physical ones of course. His mental ones became shot once he saw who called him.

It was Hermione. Hermione in muggle clothing. No, scratch that, Hermione in muggle _summer _clothing. Such a sight was something Harry had never seen the studious young girl in, mind you he had seen her in Hogwarts robes, dress robes and everyday muggle clothes, but things such as a miniskirt and tube top had never graced her body, nor his eyes.

Then again… _How the bloody hell can she see us –me? _Harry thought in panic. He was certain that the wards would repel Hermione unless…

Harry took a few steps backwards onto his stone pathway. Hermione's face suddenly looked distraught, and her cinnamon eyes searched the area almost desperately. It seemed as if the area nearby the road wasn't part of the Fidelius Charm, and therefore anyone could see Harry if he ventured out that far.

Harry very nearly succumbed and walked out again when he saw Hermione close to tears and she quickly walked around the area, searching for him… calling his name softly as a single tear rolled down her cheek. But… he had work to do. So much work and as much as he wanted it, he had no time to spare. Not even for his best friend.

With a sad sigh that seemed to make his shoulders sag and his feet weigh twice as much, Harry trudged back into his house.

He never saw Hermione burst into tears as she sank to the ground.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 09**

_You should have gone back,_ Tashaneri chided as she began yet another argument with Harry. It had been a month since Hermione had caught him outside of the wards and Tashaneri took great pride in beating him up about leaving her in tears. _The poor girl obviously cares about you!_

"Leave it," Harry hissed as his aching arm raised the daito katana again. Tashaneri had begun to implant her knowledge of tameshigiri into Harry's mind so – in essence – teach him swordplay and cutting. He had bought the best Japanese forged long katana money could buy and the muggle-liaison goblins could find. It was custom forged by a distant uncle of Tashaneri's, who had been dead in her time. Nodochi Nobura had been one of the finest bladesmiths in recent family history, and grudgingly made Harry a sword when the $100,000 cheque was waved in front of his nose.

Having just received it about three days ago, Harry was putting what he learned mentally to practice in real life, and so far he had gotten the footing correct. Having the knowledge was one thing. Actually doing it when your body had never done it before was another. Even with Tashaneri's help in strengthening every physical aspect of Harry's body, he was still clumsy when it came to the intricate artwork that was Iai. Still, the descendent of Yagyu Jubei had to admit that he wasn't terrible for a total of nine hours' worth of practice through three days.

The sword itself was beautiful. The 40 inch blade had been mirror polished with seven polish stones, and also laminated to give a brilliant shine. It had 2lbs of total weight taken off with bo-hi / blood grooves. The overall curvature was about 3 inches, pretty normal for a sword of this length. The hamon / temper line was very defined, showing a grainy jagged wave that represented turmoil and anger. You could see the grain across the entire blade, since the sword had been folded Damascus style, showing wavy patterns all over. It was also coated in silver dust.

The tip of the blade was shaped like a spear, which would provide clean stabbing and the boshi was slightly longer than normal.

The tang / handle was an unusually short 13 inches, for it didn't match with the blade's length, which would make it an awkward balance for a normal person. However, with Harry it was supposed to be so that his movements would have more weight to them, thus inducing heavier cuts. The tang was double pegged with two bamboo pegs for strength. It was wrapped in creamy dragonskin found on the underbelly of most dragons. On top of the dragonskin were traditional leather wrappings dyed a deep royal blue (ironically, Harry's favorite color, unlike the emerald green Ginny thinks it is). The end cap was made out of brass, depicting a lily flower.

The handguard was a small, rectangular piece of forged iron, to slightly help the balance. It was powdercoated black, and also depicted several lilies. The top and bottom had thin white tassels. The saya / scabbard was also royal blue, with very beautiful real gold specks all over. On top was several layers of gloss, making the saya _very_ glossy and especially pretty with the gold shining in the slightest light.

Of course Harry could make it dull as grey with a spell if he wanted, for night.

In both of their opinions, it was an incredible sword. Tashaneri bemoaned the fact that her great uncle had _had_ to die thirty odd years before she was allowed a sword, or even born. She cursed her bad luck.

The relationship between the two was strange at first, as it should have been. Two souls sharing one container of a body would not be considered normal, or even useful to some but somehow, Harry and Tashaneri pulled it off quite nicely. Harry especially liked their long talks during training, or the times when he would recess into his own mind as Tashaneri took control of his body for short periods. She could never do more than move around a bit, since it was so hard to do so, but they were working on it.

Another added perk of having two souls in one body was the power that they offered it. While Tashaneri had no magic whatsoever originally, it did not matter since the soul itself contained magic. Accidental magic that children performed was caused by heightened emotions due to something happening to them at the time. What no one knew was that the soul was the catalyst for human emotion, and accidental magic drew their very energy from the soul. How else would one explain it when a person had their soul sucked out by a dementor? They were emotionless, a vegetable at best. Anyone could have magic, as long as they had a soul.

Bringing this back to Harry and Tashaneri, they now had _one_ body containing _two_ souls, which meant a _large_ increase in power. Power that Harry could not wield yet. Harry could not manage to bring himself to such powerful emotion to bring forth the magic from his or Tashaneri's soul, since it was a lot harder than it sounded like.

_Some hours before Harry's 16th birthday…_

_It looks nicer LONGER!_ Tashaneri screeched. Harry's hair grew several inches and ended near his shoulder blades.

_I look like a GIRL!_ Harry hollered, forcing the hair to return to its short unruly mop.

_NO!_ Tashaneri shouted, making it longer again. _You're keeping it and that's final!_

How did we get to such an odd situation? Well, we'll have to rewind six days previously…

_Flashback:_

_Harry I see here that your aunt cut all of your hair off, but you grew it back overnight? _Tashaneri asked. _How is that possible?_

Harry shrugged as he ate his Shreddies. _Dunno, I guess it was accidental magic or something, _he replied. A thought struck him. _Wait a minute, maybe it was metamorphing, like Tonks!_

_What's… Oh, nevermind I just pulled it,_ Tashaneri muttered, bringing forth a picture of Tonks with a pig nose. _Sounds interesting, you should try it!_

_End Flashback! BAM!_

And try it he did. Harry discovered that he had some talent in being a metamorphmagus, and had owl-ordered several books about it as he set out to practice yet another talent of his. When he had gained enough experience to change his features, he decided on making himself look more like his mother than his father, for he always felt exasperated when someone said, "You look so much like your father!"

His face was now more oval-shaped than its previous look and his features were much softer, with higher cheekbones and a slender jaw. His brilliant green eyes remained mostly the same, just much larger and wider than before. Tashaneri explained that his eyes somehow disappeared when he would laugh. They retained their almond shape, just slightly sharper, and not as _girly_ round. Harry lost the glasses since they didn't fit his face now and bought some hard contacts that he could leave in and sleep with if he wanted. The contacts had a sheen that made his eyes even brighter looking than before, which was a feat in itself.

His daily exercise and workouts alongside with Tashaneri's physical reconditioning through her work had gained Harry about 15lbs worth of muscle so far, which raised him up to a respectable 145lbs for his age and height of 5' 7". He was still far too thin in his opinion, and vowed to keep working out for the year ahead. For now, his body resembled one of a newbie professional swimmer.

His goblin friend, Ragnok had informed Harry that Dumbledore had tried to find out where he was repeatedly during the month of July. Though Hermione had told the old man where she had seen Harry – which infuriated the young man to no end – even the great headmaster could not penetrate the goblin wards. He had then marched into Ragnok's office uninvited and demanded that the bank manager give him the locations of all of Harry's home. Dumbledore was sent out of Gringotts by two dozen guards, with a temporary ban for one month.

Voldemort had begun his attacks in earnest once his return was made public. So far, there were a few attacks, some deaths but mostly muggles. Giants had attacked, dementors had attacked, and the Dark Mark was left at all scenes. What surprised Harry the most were the vampire attacks. London had been hit the worst, with muggle newspapers showing horrible pictures of people who had been bitten, maimed or worse. In total, nearly a hundred people had died from vampire attacks, and one hospital was completely devastated when 28 victims turned and wreaked havoc. Fortunately, it was sunrise when they had turned, so all the new vampires succumbed to the sun, and the Ministry of Magic was quick to obliviate everyone. The whole attack was written off as another terrorist attack.

But still, Harry trained on. He ignored the outside world for the moment, only concentrating on what he needed to do. The prophecy bored deep into his (and to a lesser extent, Tashaneri's) mind and all he could think about was avenging his family. This is what drove Harry Potter, and Tashaneri began to get worried for him, but never showed it.

Harry's birthday arrived without fanfare, as all owls delivering him presents were sent away by the wards and he wanted no visitors. He merely spent the whole day training hard and absorbing as many books as he could, knowing that two minds learned quicker than one. His rate of reading had increased, and his ability to retain knowledge was greater. Simply reading the book once was saved into one of the many 'file cabinets' in his mind, thanks to Tashaneri.

There were several sections, including Defense, Darks Arts, Battle Magic, Light Arts, Techniques, Strategy and so on. Each one with their own cabinet with their own sections. It was incredible. If Dumbledore tried to use Legillimency on Harry now, all he would see would be shelves and shelves of books and files.

Hermione could be seen sometimes, making laps around the area where Harry lived. She was a bright young witch, Harry knew that, and he knew that she probably figured out that he was under a Fidelius charm. It didn't matter. She would never know. However, a few weeks after that, in August, Harry noticed that Ron would join her on some of the laps. They would come precisely once every three days. It was something Harry thought about a lot sometimes, but usually brushed it off in favor of lifting weights or cutting dummies to ribbons with his sword.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"_Headmaster,_

_I will not be taking the Hogwarts Express to school this term. I have important matters to attend to beforehand and I shall arrive sometime during dinner._

_HJP"_

Albus Dumbledore looked up to face the Order and the children. "This worries me," was all he could say. "Harry has spent over two months in isolation somewhere, doing Merlin knows what. To hear from him just now is quite disturbing concerning what he has written."

Hermione frowned as Ron, her boyfriend of three weeks tightened his arm around her shoulders. He had finally packed up enough courage to ask her out at the beginning of August and she accepted of course. They had spent all of their time together, getting around their new relationship and even went around the place she saw Harry last a few times together. They never saw him again though.

"How is that disturbing?" Remus Lupin asked, scowling back at the others' scowls. "Merlin forbid that Harry should have some privacy."

"It's because he ran off!" Molly Weasley shrieked. "How could he do that to us?"

Tonks spoke up nervously, "No offense Mrs. Weasley, but Harry's not a part of your family. Aside from blood that is."

Mrs. Weasley looked scandalized. "Of course he is my family, he's like my son!"

Remus shook his head. "Harry has only one mother, and she's long dead Molly. Anyone that knows Harry well enough knows that he will never look for a replacement, not then, and especially not now that he's lost what he considered his second father, Sirius."

Mrs. Weasley opened her mouth but closed it after several seconds of silence.

Remus looked around the table with a sad look on his face. "I may not know Harry more than Hermione here, or even Ron," he announced, getting up on the proverbial soap box. "But from what I knew of him when I could, he was an immensely private person. Perhaps the Dursleys beat it into him. Harry learned to be quiet, out of the way and invisible for the worse part of ten years of his life. It's part of him now. No one here can change that, even the wolf inside me knows. Harry is not used to receiving help, or asking for it. He will always go off on his own, and I know that his escapades these past five years can prove it. He's always been off on his own. It's his way."

Dumbledore sighed heavily, though the wolf in Remus could detect an undercurrent of fury. Remus looked around the room casually, as if searching everyone's eyes to what he had just said and noticed Bill Weasley, the twins and Tonks looking back at him with the same feeling on their faces.

"For now we shall leave Harry alone. He has evaded our and Voldemort's detection for so long, he will continue for another week I suppose. Though I will have words with him when he comes to Hogwarts." Remus could smell the fury even more when Dumbledore said 'words'. Something was not right.

The meeting finished and Remus saw the new couple walk up to him. It still confused him as to why Hermione would choose Ron over Harry. Since he wasn't a thick teenager, he knew who was made for who, and these two definitely weren't.

"He'll come back, won't he?" Hermione asked nervously.

"Of course he will," Remus said reassuringly. "Harry has never abandoned anyone."

"Like this summer?" Ron snorted. "He hasn't written us or anything! Probably having a good laugh in one of his castles or something."

"Ronald Weasley you are damn lucky that it isn't the full moon," Remus snarled, his amber eyes lighting up.

"Ron!" Hermione scolded. "We're so sorry professor, _aren't we Ron_?"

"Yeah," Ron said not too truthfully. "Come on; let's go up to my room."

They left hand in hand and Remus snorted loudly. "Disgusting."

"Wotcher Remmy," Tonks' voice said. He turned around to see her and three red heads.

"Don't call me that Nymph," Remus growled good-naturally. "What brings you lot here?"

Bill rolled his eyes. "I'm a curse breaker Remus," he said. "My eyes are trained to spot every little detail." He looked around to the room to make sure it was clear. He even cast a few detection spells. Finding a plethora of listening charms, they moved to Sirius' old room. "Is it me or did Dumbledore give off something rotten, and I don't mean old man smell?"

"We agree," George said. "We get this weirdest vibe whenever he's around Harry…"

"And his mind reading trick really annoys us," Fred finished.

The older ones stared at them. "You know he does Legillimency?" Remus asked in shock.

The twins nodded. "For the greatest wizard of all time, he sure doesn't know everything," Fred said.

"Magical twins share thought patterns," George explained. "Dumbledore gets terrible headaches when he tries to read one of us, and the other knows right away."

"He's tried it about four times before giving up," Fred smirked. "We've never trusted him since."

"He seemed _really _interested in Harry's affairs," Tonks said, flipping her long chestnut hair over her shoulder as Remus watched in fascination. "As an auror, I'm naturally suspicious. He doesn't take that much interest in any other students' business."

Remus gave them all a long hard look. "I am going to trust you with something I have never told anyone…"

_Sept. 1st…_

"And without further ado, tuck in!" Dumbledore said cheerfully. The tables filled with food and the students, new and old, began to dig in. One student, however, was missing. The Gryffindor table had one MIA lion, and the empty spot on the table next to Ron and Hermione clearly showed it. Harry Potter wasn't there.

"Hey Ron, where's Harry?" Dean asked, his fingers intertwined with Ginny's.

Ron shrugged indifferently. "Bugger if I know," he said. "Said he was coming later, probably from some shopping spree or rubbish."

_The forest was alive, alive with screams and battle cries._

"Harry sent us a letter last week," Hermione explained to the others, who had listened in. "He said he would arrive during the feast, since he had some business to do." 

"Sounds like Harry," Pavarti said with a nod. "He's the head of two families now, that's a lot of Wizengamot work."

Everyone stared at her. "My father has a minor chair on the Wizengamot," she said, flipping her hair back. "So a girl's got to know."

_A shining blade coated in crimson blood whistled through the air, slicing into flesh._

"Do you think he'll continue with the DA?" Seamus asked in a hushed whisper. "I've talked to everyone in the group, they all aced their OWLS!"

"Even me!" Neville exclaimed excitedly. "_Me!_"

"What are you lame lions whispering about?" Draco Malfoy sneered as he and his two henchmen sauntered up. Well Malfoy did, Crabbe and Goyle shuffled as their brains could not stimulate enough nerves to make them saunter.

_The blade rested by his side, all opponents on the ground. The blood covered bodies then turned to ash, and he sheathed the sword and continued on._

Ron looked apoplectic. "Piss off snake!" he spat.

Malfoy waved him off. "I was talking to them," he snapped, waving to the others. "You know, people who can rub two Galleons together Weasel."

Suddenly, the massive doors to the Great Hall blew apart, raining wood and steel upon the students as they covered their heads. When no more apparent danger was heard, everyone looked towards the doors, which remains were barely hanging onto the hinges. Dumbledore and the other professors had their wands at the ready.

For several tense seconds, nothing was heard. Then… a faint whistling noise appeared and grew louder.

Suddenly, a flash of shining red flew through the door, revealing a spinning sword that blew down the middle of the Great Hall, landing into the stone floor with a loud thunk right next to Malfoy, the sharp side of the blade inches away from his groin.

It was a Japanese katana, with blue leather wrappings. The blade was absolutely letting a river of blood flow to the floor.

Another sudden noise alerted everyone's attention – minus Malfoy, who had fallen on his behind and started inching away from the blood stained blade – as a figure walked into the great hall, his boots clicking with every step. He wore a slate grey robe, accented with white stitching and the hood was drawn up so no one could see his face. 'He' was definitely a 'he' since 'he' had broad shoulders and the form fitting robe showed off a masculine figure.

What was even more shocking was that when he walked through the doors, and onwards, every piece of wood and steel flew into the air around him, making for a scary cyclone of sharp objects. Each piece then flew back from him and amazingly, reassemble the doors. It was an incredible feat of power, and by the time the mysterious person stopped in front of the sword, the door was back to normal, looking – for all intent and purposes – brand new.

"Show yourself!" Dumbledore thundered, bringing fear into everyone's hearts with the power in his voice. But the person remained unfazed, as he set a strong hand on the handle of the sword.

"By your treachery," his deep voice rasped. With an almost effortless tug, he pulled the sword out of the stone floor.

"Drop that weapon!" Dumbledore bellowed. "_Expelliarmus!_"

The mysterious person batted the spell away with his sword, as if swatting a fly.

"By your treachery," he repeated, advancing on Malfoy. The long blade glistened brightly in the candlelight, all traces of blood having slipped off the polished steel.

"_Stupefy!_"

This time, a burst of wind created a vortex around the person, as the very wind itself caught the lance of light in its grasp and everyone watched as the red spell spun round and round the stranger before being jettisoned towards Professor Snape.

Luckily – or unluckily in the students' case – Snape brought up a shield before the spell hit him.

"By your treachery," the voice said darkly, as Malfoy got to his feet and fired off a weak Reductor curse. The stranger merely used his sword to flick it away. "You carry _his _mark."

And in the blink of an eye, the stranger was now behind Malfoy, blood coating the blade once more. For several seconds, no one moved, no one _understood_, but when Malfoy started screaming shrilly, they did.

The smell of burning meat filled the air and everyone looked on in horror as a burning red line of fire – like the color of searing hot coals – drew itself around Malfoy's elbow, and when it finished, his forearm fell off.

People screamed. First years fainted. Almost everyone retched. Malfoy continued screaming as the professors ran up to help him. All were stopped by a long blade that snapped up horizontally in front of them.

"By your treachery," the stranger said, fury in his voice now apparent, "You came here to kill."

"No, wait!" Malfoy whimpered, cradling what was left of his arm.

The stranger crossed his left hand over to his waist, where opposite to the scabbard was a wand holster on his right side. Drawing the wand, he pointed it at the sleeve-covered arm.

"_Evanesco,_" he hissed. The sleeve disappeared and everyone gasped in shock as the Dark Mark stood out clearly on Malfoy's pasty white flesh. The flesh where the cut was had been cauterized instantly.

"I will not kill you today," the stranger said silkily. "I'd rather have the honor of taking your life on the battlefield. The aurors will take you from here. Pray that you never see me again Malfoy, for I will be the last thing you ever see if you do."

With that, the person slashed his sword down to his side, and in doing so flicking the blood off the blade. Bringing his arm up, his twisted his fingers and the sword spun in his hand, until he was holding it reverse grip, with his knuckles facing downwards as he held the sword. The blade was now facing his left side, and in the same smooth action, he sheathed it. His wand followed shortly.

"Who are you? Show yourself!" Dumbledore roared as the aurors collected a catatonic Malfoy. The figure turned its head towards Dumbledore, though his face was downwards. Long ebony hair fell out of the hood.

With a slow motion, the person raised his hands to the hood and pulled it down. Dumbledore and the teachers gasped, while McGonagall fainted.

All Ron and Hermione could see was shining black hair that reached down to the man's well-defined shoulder blades. His hair tapered from the sides, going from several inches at the sides, to longer until it was down the middle of his back in a point at nearly two feet. Every lock looked professional styled, and spiky, yet wavy.

Having received no response from the professors, the man turned around and Hermione fainted dead away.

The face had changed, looking no more like James Potter, but those eyes would always be recognizable as Lily's. And now that his face looked more like his mother's, Harry James Potter resembled Lily Potter more than ever.

Harry had returned.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"Fancy meeting you here."

Harry looked up from the tome he was reading. Hermione stood there, her hand clasped with Ron's. He felt some indignation from Tashaneri's 'corner'.

"Indeed." And he went back to reading on curses.

Hermione gave a huff. Ron gave her a reassuring look and cleared his throat.

"Harry mate, let's go do something fun!" he suggested. "You've been here since the start of the term!"

And he had. Since school had started, Harry had holed himself up in the library, often skipping classes to do so and staying right until curfew. The only class he ever really went to was Snape's DADA. Harry occasionally went to Potions with the new professor Slughorn, but only when they were brewing something useful to him, such as healing potions.

Harry's actions as of late had many of the faculty concerned, especially Professor McGonagall. Harry had also turned down the position of Quiddich Captain for Gryffindor, which had her miffed until he told her he would quit playing Quiddich altogether. The poor woman almost had a heart attack. When asked why he was quitting his favorite sport, Harry merely said, "I have more important things to worry about."

Many professors had tried to give him detentions, which he never went to. They would always find him in the library, reading some book on curses. Madame Pince had even given up trying to kick Harry out, and instead reluctantly given him a key to the Restricted Section. No way was she going to anger the boy who destroyed and rebuilt a piece of Hogwarts!

Harry's friends had been recruited to aid in the effort of bringing him back to society. Hermione and Ron tried every night. All upon the words of the headmaster of course.

Harry either waved them off, telling the couple to enjoy time with themselves, since he was busy. He wasn't overly rude, but he wasn't polite about it either. As much as he rather, sort of, maybe missed his friends, he preferred Tashaneri's company far more.

Harry didn't quite know it, but he was isolating himself from the world. Every morning he would wake up at 5AM and go for a run around the Black Lake. After running six miles, he would stretch out a bit and perform some katas with his sword, which would take around an hour. The professors had tried to confiscate his sword, but one icy look made them never think about it again.

After his katas, Harry would go up to the Room of Requirement and wish for an exercise room. For the next hour he would work out and lift weights. Then, he would finally return to his dormitory, shower and get dressed before heading down to breakfast before his dorm mates would even wake up.

Harry would eat a healthy breakfast before consulting his schedule. If neither DADA or Potions was on the list for the day, he would head straight to the library for twelve hours. Some days, he would shave off the last three or four hours and opt to go back outside and train some more. This was usually met with a crowd of students and professors watching him move.

Harry would be in the midst of a beautiful kata, his body moving gracefully when he would abruptly stop, and turn to see the crowd. That was when the show would be over, and Harry would retreat to the RoR, so he could continue in solitude. He would never see the looks of awe and fascination as he left.

Keeping company with Tashaneri was more enjoyable than he thought. They always had something to talk about, whether it be about the war, or unimportant things such as whether Blood Lollies were actually made of blood. Tashaneri had gained a little more control over Harry's body when they 'swapped', and could now move just as much as he could.

Sometimes, she would gain complete control for mere seconds, and Harry's body would morph, but then she would lose it after. They were both very excited with the new development and dedicated an hour each night to the swap.

Ever since the capture of Draco Malfoy, Snape had been vying for Bastard of the Year. In class, he would demean and insult Harry as much as he could, but to his disappointment, Harry either ignored him, or just blinked before blasting his opponent of the day (usually a Slytherin) into a wall with just a flick of his wand. Snape looked to be getting more and more short tempered, and pretty much put Gryffindor in the negative concerning house points. All of the points taken off were of course Harry's fault, but they were ridiculous, such as "beating your opponent too fast" or "drawing your wand too slow". Harry ignored such trivial things. There were more important matters than house points.

His house mates disagreed with him. They completely blamed Harry for the lack of house points, and made sure to tell him whenever they could. He ignored them of course, opting to have a mental conversation with Tashaneri on the subject of retarded people. He was quickly becoming shunned within his own house, but still, Harry didn't care. It was as if he had become an enigma over the summer. No one knew what he had been up to, and no one bar Dumbledore dared to ask.

"Harry come on, it's Hogsmeade weekend!" Hermione pleaded. "Won't you come with us?"

"Three's company," Harry replied, turning a page.

"We don't mind," Ron replied, although it sounded as if he would.

Harry mulled it over. There were some things he needed at Hogsmeade, maybe he'd go. He could lose the gruesome twosome quickly enough. "If I go, promise me you won't bug me then."

"Deal!" Hermione said excitedly, grabbing Harry's arm. "Come on, let's go!"

A bright flash caused her to release her grip on Harry's arm, and she covered her eyes. When she saw the light fade away, she brought her arms down and managed a tiny squeak.

Harry was now dressed in what appeared to be a white tuxedo of some sorts. It was very fancy looking, and came complete with a ¾ length jacket. Hermione deduced that he had used a switching spell to get changed. His sword was strapped to his waist with several belts. His hair was styled neatly as usual, this time looking to have been brushed up and over, keeping his bangs from falling into his face and making his hair look like many fins raking backwards. He looked incredibly handsome, especially with his mother's features, which – although slightly feminine – added to it.

Another flash, and his money bag was summoned. "Let's go then."

The three made their way out of the Entrance Hall, where Filch's beady eyes watched their every movement as they left. Harry stepped onto one of the last carriages left and his friends quickly joined him.

Harry occupied one side of the carriage, while Ron and Hermione cuddled up on the other side. He merely looked out the window as the carriage made its way down to Hogsmeade.

_So, potion ingredients huh?_ Tashaneri asked.

_Yup,_ Harry replied. _There's a ritual potion I want to try out._

_Is it dangerous or Dark?_ Tashaneri asked cautiously.

_Yes to both._

"So… You've been in the library an awful lot lately," Ron said nervously as Harry's attention was brought back to the couple. "Even more than 'Mione here!" 

"Don't call me 'Mione!" Hermione snapped, giving Ron a slap on the arm. "It's true though. What _are_ you doing in there?"

"Reading, what one does in a library," Harry answered dryly.

"You don't have to be so rude," Hermione said, hurt. "We were just asking."

"Then don't ask," Harry replied, nonplussed as the carriage stopped. "See you."

He disappeared into the crowds before Ron and Hermione could get out of the carriage. "Bloody hell, how did he do that?" Ron gasped as he looked around.

Hermione frowned. "What's gotten into you Harry?" she whispered.

"You heard me," Harry sneered at the shopkeeper. He was in the Apothecary. "Dragon's blood, preferably fresh."

"We don't sell to students," the keeper sneered back. "I don't care if you're the Boy-Who-Lived; you're still a filthy mudb-"

He was pushed up against the shelves, spilling ingredients all round as Harry's blade rested at his lips, silencing him. Harry's other hand was clutching his wand loosely at his side, and the man was stunned. How could the brat soundlessly pin him up without even a wand movement?

"One more word out of your mouth and I'll cut your tongue," Harry breathed softly, nudging the man's mouth open with the tip of his blade. "Now, where can is the dragon blood?"

The man refused to answer, but his eyes darted to a locked cabinet to Harry's right. "Thank you."

Harry brought his sword down and the man heaved a sigh of relief. Suddenly, he yelped as he was forcibly thrown to the left, crashing through several shelves and landing in a bloody heap.

Harry's green eyes pulsated with power as he glared icily down at the man. "Never try my patience again," he hissed. "It's thin enough as it is."

A flick of his wand proved fruitful as the cabinet had powerful magical locking charms. _No worry_. A flick of his wrist, and the sword cut through the wooden box like it were butter. Wizards often neglected the muggle way of thinking. Gathering two jars of fresh green blood, Harry turned to the moaning shopkeeper and trained his wand on him.

"_Obliviate_."

_Harry what did you just do? _Tashaneri cried as he exited the shop. _That was cruel!_

_He had it coming, the pureblood garbage that he is,_ Harry replied calmly. _The ritual relies heavily on dragon's blood, and I'm not going to let an idiot with a wand up his ass get in my way. Do you have a problem with that?_

_Sort of!_ Tashaneri snorted. _It's like you don't even care! Like… Like you're turning into Tom._

Harry stopped walking. _Oh god, am I?_


End file.
